1/32 Hasegawa Fw190D-9 Black One

[jkim]

Hello SPA modelers,

I've posted a few of my finished builds here and have gotten very positive comments. I thought I'd repay the hospitality by sharing my upcoming build here on SPA Modeler. This will be my first build outside of my original online community. I plan on continuing to post there but I thought I'd be able to handle posting on two sites, if that is ok with the moderators here. The Dora that I am building is a famous one and one that has been modeled more than a few times.

I hesitated on this subject because it has already been built by some fantastic modelers who I admire (Chris Wauchop and Klaus Herrold to name two) and whose work I cannot hope to match. But that's ok... every model is a unique reflection of its builder and hopefully, I can bring at least few new things to this representation of Hans Dortenmann's famous Yellow Tail Dora.

This is what I am STARTING with. The 190D-9 Late Version kit in the upper left corner is one that I picked up before and have not started yet. Next to the Late Version kit are a few of the resources that I have, most notably, recently obtained versions of Jerry Crandall's wonderful two-volume Dora reference books. Scattered about below is a collection of aftermarket items. Some are leftovers from a previous Dora build, others were intended for the Late Version kit and the rest were purchased specifically for this build.


I have a love/hate relationship with the aftermarket stuff. I can't resist the lure of eye-popping detail and super-duper accuracy but have been disappointed in the past by resin parts that don't fit and super tiny brass pieces that can't be seen by the naked eye. So what I start with may not be what ends up on the model.

Hans Dortenmann's Fw190D-9 is an interesting machine. The Werk Number of 210003 indicates that it was one of the first Doras to be delivered into operational service. When most late war Doras had an expected service life of a few scant hours, Dortenmann's D-9 survived to the end of the war only to be blown up by Dortenmann himself, rather than turning his faithful mount over to the enemy. I will portraying the Dora after Dortenmann's transfer to JG26 when his "Red 1" was changed to "Black 1".



In the next post, I'll take a peek at the Hasegawa kit and a closer look at the planned upgrades.

[Stikpusher]

Jkim, it is perfectly fine for you to post a work in progress thread here and on other modeling forums. Several members here, myself included, have done that in the past and currently. So please feel free to do so.

Your upcoming 190D project looks to be a real beauty.

[jkim]

Thank you Carlos! I appreciate the confirmation. I've got a couple of non-modeling obligations that I have to fulfill before I jump back fully into modeling but I'm itching to get started. I should be able to get into the meat of this build in a few weeks.

[jkim]

Alright, let's take a closer look at the Hasegawa kit (ST19) which was originally released in 2003. The artwork features the bright red/white-bottomed Red 3 of the Papagei Staffel. The boxing is typical Hasegawa with a large plastic bag holding all of the grey sprues together and then a separate bag for the clear parts and the poly caps.


The clear sprue gives the modeler the choice of the early flat canopy and the later blown canopy style. While Hortenmann's aircraft was one of earliest Doras, it was documented to have been retrofitted with the later blown canopy by the time it became Black 1.


The rest of the sprues will be presented in no particular order... just as they come out of the bag. Here are two of the smaller sprues. The sprue on the left has the wheel well insert and some engine parts. The right sprue has the tail parts. Hasegawa, like other manufacturers, will often "modularize" their kits to allow for the release different versions. This tail is typical of most 190D-9's. The Late Version kit that I also have features a larger, Ta-152 tail that was documented on a few Doras.


Hasegawa was the first model company to correctly depict the open wheel wells that characterized the Doras from earlier Fw190 models. The separate wheel well insert allows for some nice detail but it also includes some pesky ejector pin marks that need to be removed.


The fuselage halves are contained on this sprue.


One criticism of the Hasegawa Dora kit is the shape of the gun cowling. Compared to the corrected Eagle Editions resin piece, the bulges on the kit part is exaggerated. The Eagle Editions cowling is left over from a previous build. Due to shrinkage and warping, the part did not fit to my satisfaction so I didn't use it. Instead, the resin cowling stood as a model to modify the kit piece, which I plan to do again.


Another left-over resin part is the Eagle Editions corrected radiator cowling. This one was just a hair undersized on my last Dora build. If I can find a way to incorporate it into this build, I will use it.


The kit instrument panel has some nice dial detail molded onto its face. I prefer empty bezels myself as decals make a more convincing instrument panel, imo. The Eagle Editions resin cockpit upgrade was purchased specifically for this build. Why Eagle Editions when I've had past issues with the fit of their gun cowling and radiator cowling? No good answer for that one. It was between Eagle and Aires and I preferred the resin/decal instrument panel approach of the Eagle IP versus the brass/clear acetate of Aires. Hopefully I'll have better luck with this Eagle Editions cockpit than I had with the MDC cockpit that I tried on my last Dora build.


The next sprue has the wing components. Molding is very fine and all exterior panel lines are recessed. There is a conspicuous absence of rivets though. Based on archive pictures of Doras in service (see the photo that I posted of Black 1 as a good example), I think rivets on this model are appropriate so I'm going to rivet all of the exterior surfaces.




The drop tank, landing gear and other small details are on the next sprue. Also included is a multi-part pilot figure, which you don't see much of these days. I'll post some closeups of the figure later. The exhaust pipes deserve a mention here. Although they are molded with solid ends, they are designed so that they can be added to the aircraft after all of the painting is complete. Always a nice touch.


The final sprue has some control surface parts as well as the cockpit tub and seat.


I'll continue on in a bit...

[BlackSheep214]

Looks like it's gonna be a great build. Have you looked into Yahu brand IP? I've heard many great things about their aftermarket instrument panels.

[jkim]

Looks like it's gonna be a great build. Have you looked into Yahu brand IP? I've heard many great things about their aftermarket instrument panels.

Thank you! I have not used the Yahu panels yet but they look very good. 1/32 190D-9 is listed as a future Yahu product but I think I already have enough options for this build (Kit panel+decals, Eagle Editions panel + Airscale decals and Eduard colored photoetch panel) to produce a satisfactory result.

I'll continue my pre-build review with a look at the Eagle Editions resin cockpit set for the Dora. Included in the set are pieces in two different colors of resin and a photoetch fret. This set is designed as a full replacement of the Hasegawa cockpit and will require some removal and thinning of the kit parts.


The cockpit tub has finer detail than the kit tub and includes wiring detail on the floor.


Eagle Editions supplies two types of seats: one with the harnesses molded in and one without. Interestingly, plain seat is molded in a different colored resin material than the other parts. A very good result can be obtained by careful painting of the molded harnesses but I have picked up a set of fabric harnesses by HGW that I am intending to use. There is also a third option available as Eagle has included the harness buckle pieces on their photoetch fret.


The Eagle cockpit has a nice rendition of the Revi 16B gunsight that was used on the Dora. I also have some Revi gunsights from Quickboost that could also be used. The Eagle gunsight is noticeably larger than the Quickboost gunsight.


The Eagle instructions recommend using the kit instrument panel decals but I thought that Airscale decals might look better. I also have some IP decals leftover from the MDC cockpit set that could be used in a pinch.


I picked up this Eduard photoetch set with the intention of using it on the 190D-9 Late Version kit but I'll include it here for reference. It is fully dedicated to the Dora instrument panel and goes a few steps beyond the normal Eduard cockpit upgrade set in that it has separate brass pieces for the instrument bezels. One negative about Eduard photoetch is the strange purplish color that they use as RLM66 Dark Grey. There is also a noticeable fabric texture to the colored PE faces. It's hard to get rid of but you can reduce the texture effect by giving the pieces a flat coat. In all likelihood, this set will not be used for this build.


Rounding out the cockpit upgrades is the HGW Luftwaffe harness set. This will be my first experience with the HGW product but I have used similar harnesses from RB Productions as well as fabricating my own harnesses using foil from a wine bottle and buckle hardware from MDC.


To be continued...

[Stikpusher]

This puppy is gonna be fully tricked out... Nice!

[speedgraflex]

The Dora.

I am fascinated by the plane as well as the way you approach the creative task of bringing the Black One, a famous pilot's steed, to life... all in your way.

How do you choose your subjects? I am thinking about the Tank as I ask you this, because I am wanting to find an H-1 that is documented. And I know Thomas suggested wisely and rightly to use the ZM Concept Book, but I have a budget... and the afternarket has cost half the cost of the kit so far.

Also I am very interested in the way you build the seat belts! I have Martin's 1/48 late Luftwaffe versions and no clue how to begin. Even cutting out parts intimidates me. So...

I'll be following along and looking closely at what you do!!

Cheers.

[jkim]

I'm a bit of a Dora fanatic myself. I've always liked the Dora since childhood. I remember building the old Revell 1/32 D-9 model as a kid over 40 years ago. Slapped together with glue and no paint.


I usually choose my subjects based on visual interest as opposed to historical aspects. I'm really interested in the different camoflage patterns that the Luftwaffe developed over the course of WW2. Crandall's two volumes on the Dora are a goldmine of information and highly recommended for any fan of the Dora. When building for a friend, the aircraft choice is more dependent on their preferences but I also have input. I empathize with your search for a Ta152H-1 subject. Not much out there in terms of documented H-1's. Green 9 and 150167 were all I could find and I chose the one with the operational markings.

Continuing on with the pre-build review, we come to the markings. I picked up a set of EagleCal decals for Black 1. I will use the tactical number (Black 1), the black Gruppe wave (or welle) and the stenciling from this sheet. But for the larger national crosses, I want to paint them using masks. Based on information that I found from Crandall's Dora books, I ascertained that Black 1 (W.Nr 21003) and JV44's Red 13 (W.Nr 210240) shared the same size/style crosses, which makes sense with both aircraft being 210xxx series of early Doras produced at the Sorau factory. I was able to find a set of Montex masks for Red 13 and will use these masks for the crosses and swastika.


I picked up a set of resin guns for the Fw190A-7/A-8 from Quickboost. I will probably will be using brass tube for the wing cannon barrels but what I needed from the Quickboost set are the rigid metal gun boots that are visible in the wheel well. These will replace the blobs found in the Hasegawa kit that are supposed to represent canvas covers.


The kit flaps will be replaced by these photoetched flaps by Eduard, provided I don't mess them up. I think the Hasegawa flaps are perfectly acceptable but I was fascinated by the intricate look and wanted to give them a try.


I am going to replace the kit tail wheel with a resin replacement from Eagle Editions. Again, there is not much to criticize about the Hasegawa tail wheel but the separation of the wheel from the strut will allow me to paint some white sidewalls on the wheel.


Wow... I've really added a lot of extra stuff to this build haven't I? Most likely, if past experiences hold true, some of these things will get tossed aside but at this stage I'm hopeful that all of the goodies will get included.

One more aftermarket product to share in a moment...

[BlackSheep214]

That's gonna be one tricked out Dora! I'll be following this build for sure.